Where I sew

My office slowly changes as hobbies of mine ebb and flow (here it is in 2010). Right now I'm super into quilting (and cross stitching), so most of my space is taken up by fabric.



As you walk in the door (I hang basted quilts on my door while they're in the queue to be quilted), the wall to the left has photos from our trip to Iceland and the beloved sheep we saw while visiting. Behind the door I store whichever sewing machine I'm not currently using. I switch between a super-fast straight stitch Brother Nouvelle 1500s that I purchased used from a friend last fall and my trusty Janome 6260QC that I've had since 2006.



Straight ahead is a tall thin Billy shelf that holds my serger, yarn, craft books and binders with printed knitting and sewing patterns. To the left of the shelf I store my cutting mat and large rulers. My desktop computer sits on one side of my craft table (printer and shredder below). The Knitting pug print is from African Grey on Etsy.



Under my table I have a metal IKEA rolling cart that holds my most used sewing notions in the top two drawers (and my nail polish collection in the bottom four...eek). The right side of the table is used for quilting and I have a handy trash can within arm's length while I sew.






My IKEA Expedit is my favorite storage solution. Right now I'm using the top 8 cubes for fabric storage. 2 of the white boxes hold sweater quantities of yarn, one holds quilting and apparel patterns and one holds my fabric scraps. The bottom row holds mostly sheet music (playing the flute is one of my longest running hobbies). On top of the shelf I have several photo albums, a bin that holds stationery, and stacks of fabric for future quilts that I let sit to percolate.

My mom refurbished the chair below the window and now Koko and Nuku Nuku take turns watching me work inside or watching squirrels and birds outside the window from the seat.



The closet is the big catch all. I have crammed as much stuff as possible in here. I'm never happy with how I organize this, but I never want to do a total redo of this spot, so I rearrange this two or three times a year. Right now it holds thread, apparel fabric and quilt back fabric, batting, embroidery thread, hoops and fabric, knitting needles, my iron/ironing board/starch, quilting templates, quilts in progress, and random notions (ribbons, zippers,buttons, etc.)



The final spot in the room holds more yarn and my ball winder, two favorite pictures of Jon, and some softies I've collected from Etsy or craft sales. Right below the shelf, I have pegs that hold project bags for knitting and cross stitching.

I'm thankful this room is so small (about 9' x 12') because I don't want to turn into any more of a craft supply hoarder than I already am. I try to keep all of my belongings in here and purge when I run out of room. If I could have a little bit more space in here, I would have a counter height cutting table. Right now I use our kitchen peninsula to cut fabric. I love working in here. It's right next to Jon's office so we listen to music together or chat while we're working on our respective projects.